Turret-shooting battery



July 14, 1925.

S. W. TRAYLOR TURRBT. SHOOTING BATTERY Filed much 26, 1924 2 shuts-sheet 1 TOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented July 14, 1925.

mean

PATENT QFFICE.

SAMUEL W. TRAYLOR, OF ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

runnnr-snoorme BATTERY.

Application fil ed March 26, 1924. Serial No. 701,946.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Ee it known that I, SAMUEL W. TRArLoR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Allentown, in the county of Lehigh and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Turret-Shooting Batteries, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a turret shooting battery which comprises a device which is adapted to float in the water and which also is adapted to carry a person in concealment so that ducks may approach withinshooting distance without becoming disturbed and frightened.

The general object of the invention is to provide a battery of thecharacter and for the purpose indicated having means where- 1 by a person who occupies the battery which is floating in the water may with facility.

and readiness shift his position as may be desired so as to place himself in proper.

shooting relation to the direction from i which the ducks may be approaching the battery: that is, the place of concealment.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a battery of the character indicated with means whereby the concealment of the person occupying the same may be more of fectually accomplished than by the employment of any device of similarcharacter of which I am aware. r

Another object of the invention is to provide the battery with novel means whereby in case of emergency, such as a sudden storm, the plane of the top edge thereof may be elevated temporarily. for the purpose of preventing water from washing over the top of the battery'and thereby causing the possible sinking or submersion of the same. Other objects and advantages of the in vention will be pointed out in the detailed description thereof which follows or will be apparent from such description.

In order that the invention may be readily understood and its practical advantages fully appreciated, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which I have illustrated one form of mechanical embodiment thereof. However, it will be understood that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in other forms of construction than that shown and that changes in the details of construction may be made W i canvas or similar material while the remaining portion thereof is shown with such canvas or other material removed;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View on the line 22 of Fig. 1; V v

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional "iew taken on the line 83 of Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2; and

'Fig. 5 is a perspective View .of a removable attachment for the battery adapted to effect more complete concealment of aperson who may occupy the battery.

Referring to the drawings: 1 designates a tank the lower end of which, which is adapted to be submerged within water, is hermetically sealed or closed by a bottom a. The tank 1 is provided near its upper edge with an angle plate member 2 of annular or circular form, the vertical flange 3 of which is secured by means of rivets 4 to the outside of the wall of the said tank. Deck portions or boards5, the inner edges of which are of circular shape as indicated at 6 so that they taken may fit closely against the outer side of the vertical wall of the tank 1, are securedby means of bolts 7 to the horizontal flange 8 of the said angle plate. It willbe observed that there are four of these boards and that the ends of the said boards abut along lines radial to the tank 1 as indicated at 10. Preferably the adjoining or abutting ends of the boards 5 are reinforced by means of overlappingv plates 11 which are secured to.

The said frame nects the same.

site ends of the boards 15 and 17 and as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 extenda considerable distance beyond the said boards 15 and 17. Boards 21 and 22 are secured to the lower edges of the boards 16 and 19 and 18 and 20 and cooperate therewith to form boxes which are adapted to be closed by hinged lids 23 and 24. These boxes may be employed for holding weights which may be employed to control the depth of submersion of the tank 1 within the water. The weight required to be placed in the said boxes will depend upon the weight of the person occupying the battery. The said boxes may be employed also for storing articles of various kinds the storage of which may be desirable. The weights in the said boxes are indicated at 25.

The outer ends of the boards 19 and 20 are connected together by means of bars 27 and 27. A bar or strip 28 also extends between the said boards 19 and 20 and con- Strips 30 arranged in spaced relation to each other are secured at their opposite ends to the board 15 and bar 27. Like strips 31 are securedattheir opposite ends to the board 17 and bar 27. Swinging frame members 35, 36, 37 and 38 are hingedly secured to the bars 27, 19, 27 and 20 by means of hinges 40. It will be observed that between the opposite ends of the frame member 35 and the adjacent ends of the frame members 36 and 38, and also between the opposite endsv of the frame member 37 and the adjacent ends of the said frame members 36 and 38 corners are formed within which triangular-shaped frame members 41, 42, 43 and 44 are hingedly supported. The said hinges are indicated at 45 and by means thereof the said triangular-shaped frame members are connected with the opposite ends of the frame members 36 and 38. A frame member 50 is also hingedly connected by means of hinges 51 to the outer edge of the frame member 37. It will be observed that there is no corresponding frame member at the opposite end of the structure.

For the purpose of more effectually concealing the structurefrom ducks-or other fowl which may approach the neighbor' hood of the battery both the'rigid and oscillatable or flexible portions of the structure are covered by means of flexible material, such as canvas, indicated at 60. The canvas is slit along lines as indicated at 61 between the triangular frame members 41, 42, etc, and the adjacent opposing ends of the frame members 35 and 37. The canvas should be painted so as to resemble as nearly as may be practical or possible the appearance of the surrounding water upon. the surface of which the said flexible portion of the frame structure rests. The said flexible portion of the structure moves or oscillates in harmony with the waves or in harmony with the vertical movements or pulsations of the water within which the battery may be floating. By this means the likelihood of the battery or device being visible to approaching birds, such as ducks, geese, etc., is greatly reduced. 3 I

As an important feature of my invention I have provided within the tank 1 a relatively shallow tub or pan-like member 65 the rotation of the sameabout the king bolt or pin 67 I have provided balls 71 which are interposedbetween the bottom 66 of the member 65 and the bottom a of the tank 1. The said balls 71 are situated in spaced relation to the center of the bottom 66 as shown. I have provided a seat 72 within the member 65 which is provided with rollers 73 mounted on tracks or guides 7 4 upon the bottom 66 of the said member 65. It will be apparentthat the seat 72 may be moved inwardly or outwardly so as to vary its position to suit the desires or requirements of the occupant of the battery. The position and attitude of an occupant of the battery is indicated in Fig. 2 of the draw- Tor the purpose'of more effectually concealing the occupant of the battery from approaching ducks, geese or the like I have provided the segment-ally-shaped frame structures 76 each of which is provided with three legs 77 as shown which are adapted to project downwardly into the tub or pan like member 65 and to extend through staples 80 secured upon the inner side of .the side walls of the said member. The legs 77 are provided with notches 81 at their lower ends which fit over the flange 82 of thebottom 66 of the member 65. .The legs 77 support the frames 76 in'p-lanes substantially coincident with the plane of the top edge of the tank 1. The frames 76 are covered over with canvas as indicated at 83.

The inner straight edges of the frames 76,

when the latter are in position as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, are parallel with and are spaced from each other. The distance of separation between the parallel straight edges of these frames sufficient to permit the occupant to straighten up and stand erect in the batteryshould he desire to doso.

-As has already been described the tub or pan-like member 65 is mounted to rotate within the tank 1. This is of very great advantage when the occupant is desirous of changing from a position in which he maybe facing to another in which it may be more convenicnt for him to shoot at ducks, geese, or the like which may be in shooting distance of the battery. The occupant of the battery may readily rotate the member 65 by placing an arm or hand against the relatively stationary wall of the tank 1 and pushing upon the same. Such action will cause-rotative movement of the said member 65 so as to place the occupant in whatever position he may wish to take.

It will also be observed that, as already indicated, there is no franiemember at the left hand endof the battery, having reference'to Fig. 1 of the drawings, corresponding to the frame member 50. The latter, therefore, acts somewhat in the capacity of a rudder so as to cause the battery to assume a position with the left hand end thereof, hav

ing reference to Fig. 1 of the drawings, facing in the direction fr'omwhich the wind may be blowing or in the direction from which the water within which the battery is floating may be flowing.

It may happen that by reason of the sud-- of water within which the battery may be floating so that it might happen that unless preventive means were'employed thewater would Wash over the wings of the battery and over the top edge of the tank 1 and fill the latter thereby causing the battery to sink. In order to prevent such an occur-- rence I have provided a safety device comprising a circular strip of flexible material 90 one edge of which is secured to the inner side of the upper edge of the tank 1 by means of a band 91. The edge of the circular strip 90 is secured between the said band and the adjacent portion of the upper edge of the tank 1. The outer or rather the movable edge portion of the circular strip 90 is provided with a steel ring or hoop 92 of a diameter such that it may be moved down into the tank 1 as shown in full lines in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings. This is the position normally occupied by the said strip but in case high winds should rise or develop which might induce waves in the water of a height to cause them to wash over the top edges of the tank 1 the occupant of the battery may stand therein and elevate and hold the ring or hook 92 together with the circular band 90 in a position above the top edge of the tank 1 as indicated in dotted lines at 93 in Fig. 2.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that by reason of the fact that the canvas or other covering, which is secured over the rigid and hingedly connected frame structure as previously described, is painted flexible portions of the said frame structure ride up and down upon the waves of the water in which the battery may be floating the visibility of the battery'is decreased to such an extent that approaching birds, such as ducks, geese, and the like, are not likely to observe the same.

It will also be apparent that by reason of the fact that the occupant of the battery is supported upon the rotatable member 65 he may readily and quickly change from one position to any other which he may desire.

The practical advantages incident to my invention will be apparent to those who are familiar with devices of the character shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1; In a turret shooting battery, the combination of a tank adapted to float in Water, with means mounted within the said tank and" rotatable about a substantially vertical axis, said means being adapted to support a person occupying the said battery 2. In a turret shooting battery, the combination of a tank adaptedto float in water, a member mounted in the said tank upon the bottom' thereof, which member is adapted to rotate about a substantially vertical axis, and a seat mounted upon the said rotatable member.

3. In a turret shooting battery, the combination of a tank adapted to float in water, a pan-like member located within said tank, roller bearings interposed betweenthe bottom of said pan-like member and the bottom of said tank and supporting the former, and a slidable seat mounted within and 1gipon the bottom of the said pan-like mem- 4. In a turret shooting battery, the combination of a tank which is adapted to float in water, a rotatable supporting member mounted within and upon the bottom of the said tank, and concealing means supported upon said rotatable member for more effectually concealing a person located upon theksaid rotatable member within the said tan 5. In a turret shooting battery, the combination of a tank which is adapted to float in water, a rotatable pan-like member mounted within and upon the bottom of said tank, the side walls of said pan-like memher being provided with two groups of staples which groups are arranged in opposed relation to each other, segmentally shaped frame members each of which is provided with a plurality of depending legs which are adapted to engage the said staples, the straight edges of said segmentally shaped frame members occupying inn-er positions in spaced opposed relation to each other when bination of a tank which is adapted to float in water, which tank is provided with a rotatable supporting means adapted to support a person therein, a frame structure'ex-v tending laterally from the periphery of the said tank adjacent the upper edgethereof, said frame structure comprising rigid and flexible portions, One or more receptacles embodied within the rigid portion of the said frame structure, and a flexible covering for the said frame structure.

7. In a turret shooting battery, the combination of a tank which is adapted to float in water, movable means within the said tank for supporting an occupant thereof, a frame structure extending laterally from the periphery of the, said tank adjacent its upper edge, said frame structure comprising a rectangular, rigid portion and rectangular frame portions having flexible connection with the respecti-veedges of the said rigid portion, and triangularly shaped flexibly connected portions situated in the corners between adjacent portionsof the said rectangular flexibly connected frame portions, and a flexible covering for the said frame structure. 1

8. A turret shooting battery comprising a tank whichis adapted .to float in water, which tank is provided with a frame structure extending'lat'erally from its periphery at a point adjacent the upper edge thereof,

which frame structure comprises an inner rigid portion 1 of rectiangular shape, rection, .tria'ngjularly shaped [frame members situatedin the corners between adjacent ends ofthe said rectangularly shaped frame members, the said triangularly-shaped members respectively having hinged connection with one end of a frame member, a frame member having hingedconnection with one edge of one ofthe said rectangularly shaped frame members, and a flexible covering for the said frame structure.

9. Ina turret shooting battery, the combination of a tank which is adapted to float in water, which tank is provided with a rotatable supporting means adapted to support a person therein, a frame structure extending laterally from the periphery of the said tank adjacent the upper edge thereof, and a covering for the said frame structure. g

10. In a turret shooting battery, the combination of a tank which is adapted to float in water, which tank is provided with a rotatable supporting means adapted to support a person therein, a frame structure extending laterally from the periphery of the said "tank adjacent the upper edge thereof, said. frame structure comprising rigid and flexible portions, and a flexible covering for the said frame structure. 7

In testimony thatI claim the foregoing as my invention, I have hereunto signed my name this 24 day of March, 1924.

; SAMUEL W.- TRAYLOR- 

